The first hour was fresh and entertaining...then comes the climax and there goes the picture.

Rating: 7/10 (2 November 2008)

"28 Days Later" stands above the typical horror movie, and by a lot too. Unfortunately, the average horror movie is so bad, that this would have to be terrible not to be better. This is actually really good for a horror movie. It has realistic acting, characters we care about, scary antagonist zombies that lead to several heart racing scenes and dialogue that's just fine. The climax is what brought this movie down a notch. It was loud, and nonstop, and everything that defined what the first part of the movie is, is not used in the climax.
After an outbreak of an infectious disease, the world's population is moving away from humans and now is being lead by brain dead and blood hungry zombies. Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma 28 days after this disease took hold of the human race. He ends up meeting other survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris), a tough woman who will kill anyone infected in a split second, Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and his daughter Hannah (Megan Burns). These few survivors go off to find more survivors and end up finding a military base where the study these zombie creatures by chaining them up. Chaos ensues when one gets loose.
The first part and good portion of this movie is different from most horror films. It's quiet, except for zombie attacks which will catch you by surprise, and the characters act very reserved, but it's not boring. It's like a character study, and the characters are interesting. Instead of showing lots of zombie violence (which it does have some), it's more about the characters and how they're coping and what they're thinking. Once on the military base, this movie takes a turn for the worse. It grows overly violent, and the climax is equivalent to a bunch of loud screaming while throwing blood and guts at the camera. This type of climax works better in comically violent films, such as Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" or Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead II", but here it's a step in the wrong direction. Then we get to the ending. It may not be anything new, but it's an effective and good ending.
I enjoyed everything about this movie, except for the climax. But even with a climax like this has, this is an exceptional zombie movie. The acting and writing are realistic and the characters created are ones we care about. The direction is good, as is the camera direction. Much better than the sequel this movie produced. Overall, this is a similar plot (The Omega Man) but it brings enough new to the genre to make it a success.
My rating: *** out of ****. 113 mins. R for violence and language.